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PdC river wall damage to be assessed

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Submitted by admin1 on Wed, 02/07/2018 - 10:51

By Correne Martin

Damage sustained to the river wall at Prairie du Chien’s Lawler Park last fall will be assessed by an engineering firm experienced in port facility repair needs, since the Prairie du Chien Common Council approved a professional services agreement (PSA) with the company Tuesday night.

According to City Planner Garth Frable, last year, a tow boat had docked along the river wall to take on water, which is a relatively common occurrence.

“The boat was tied to one of the large bollards affixed to the wall. After the tow boat left, city staff noted that the bollard had been partially pulled from the wall, which resulted in the wall bowing out,” Frable said.

The council approved a PSA with Krech Ojard & Associates to assess the damage and get an estimate for repairs so the city can request compensation from the tow boat company.

Squad car lease
During its regular monthly meeting, the council also approved a four-squad car lease for the police department for 2018 through 2021. A memo from Sergeant Kyle Teynor explained that the department has used the Ford Financing Lease/Purchase Program to finance its fleet vehicles for the previous six years. This financing program allows municipalities to finance the purchase of new fleet vehicles over the course of several years and, at the conclusion of the lease, the municipality then owns the vehicles. The program has been successful for the city in the past and this will be the third consecutive lease agreement entered with Ford Financing.

“We are requesting entering into a four-year lease for years 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 for the purchase of four fleet vehicles. The estimated cost and amount budgeted is $25,226.49,” Teynor said. “The reason this is an estimate is because the annual APR will not be known until the financing is completed. The previous two leases included a 6 percent APR.”

The fleet vehicles will be purchased from Blackhawk Motors, which matched or beat pricing provided by the state of Wisconsin bidding process.

“The benefits of this lease program are plentiful. A few that stand out are: budget certainty, equipment commonality, maintenance cost savings and repairs covered by warranties,” Teynor added.

New street lightThe residents living at 1811 Campion Blvd. recently contacted the city requesting erection of a street light near their residence, stating it’s very dark after sunset near the driveway along Campion and creates a public safety hazard to vehicle and pedestrian traffic. The driveway is actually connected to the multiuse path along the roadway.

According to Interim City Administrator Chad Abram, the city’s only concern was whether there was adequate power for a street light at that location. Electric was confirmed buried there and Alliant Energy concurred it would be possible to get the light and pole placed there. An energy efficient LED bulb will be installed.

The council approved the action to install a street light at that location for public safety reasons, with assistance from Alliant Energy and the city’s public works department.